5 Myths About Live Streaming For Business

Live streaming is one of the hottest topics of 2018, as millions are experiencing the power of real-time broadcasting into audiences of their choosing. But some marketers are still hesitant to ry live, worrying that it may not work for a modest-sized event, decrease in-person attendance, or cost too much for there to be reliable ROI. While some of these preconceived notions hold merit, many do not. Here are six of the top myths about live streaming – rebutted.

1. You Need a Professional Videographer

Anyone can set up and run their own livestream, it just takes the right platform and persistence. There are multiple influencers who have made a career from broadcasts done from a cell phone. Live footage from conference floors, industry insights from your home office and 1 on 1 interviews are all things which can be produced from a handheld tripod and edited at home.

2. Live is Only for Massive Events

The notion that live only works at scale for massive events is a popular one, but incorrect. Live video is a worthy investment for many types and sizes.It works great for smaller events such as product workshops or webinars. Some organizers want to maintain the intimacy and exclusivity of the physical event, but wouldn’t mind reaching 30-40x people. This can be a nuanced task made much easier by streaming the event directly to your target audience on the sites they already browse.

3. Live is Expensive

Contrary to popular to belief, live streaming doesn’t have to be expensive. Even if you do splurge a little bit on cameras or production costs, chances are it will still provide good ROI. According to HubSpot, 52% of marketers worldwide named video as the content type with the best ROI.

4. No One is Going to Watch

Audiences are hard to come by, but they can be earned over time. That is, unless you have a distribution plan. But once you have them, they’re much more likely to engage with the live content. According to Facebook, their users watch live video 3x longer and comment on it 10x more often with pre-recorded video. To increase staying power, try experimenting with behind-the-scenes footage, guest speakers, Q&A’s and special announcements or giveaways at the end of the stream.

5. The Value of the Video After the Event is Over

This statement completely discounts the power of retargeting as it pertains to live video. After the live event is finished, you can take all the footage and repurpose it for different marketing materials. Create teasers for future events by retargeting your owned audience to drive viewership for your next live event.Aside from boosting viewership, last year’s stream may affect your event’s physical attendance. According to digital.com, 30% of people who watch a live stream of an event will attend the same event in person the following year.Keep this in mind for annual conferences or regular webinar programming.

Share

Subscribe to our mailing list

Stay up to date on the live streaming space with data and insights from our latest research. Please enter your email below: